Not quite what our Rhodes warriors were wishing for but the mountain gods were kind to the Class of 2019 and provided an ‘eye of the storm’ so ensuring a gentler day.
The weather gods may have provided a calm day but up front storm clouds gathered and burst over the hills as fierce competition commenced for the titles and gold medals.
The personal storms continued through the field, in some cases causing emotional withdrawal from the route, emotional finishes and emotion charged Snowflake number qualifiers.
A classic ‘eye of the storm’ sheltered the runners on race day. Two days before the race a headwind of 80kph on the border road had blasted the flag team when they emerged from the Kloppershoek kloof, and two days after the runners were safely back in the village the bulk of the run route was covered with snow, in places impassable for 4x4 vehicles.
Up front defending champions Kallie Berger and Leilani Scheffer unleashed their own storm on the field leading the chasers through the kloof to claim the King and Queen of the Kloof titles.
On race day when runners surfaced at the top of Mavis Bank they were met with a mild head wind which reached 30-40kph at times, still strong enough to push wind chill below 0°C and turn bodies overheating after the lung searing Mavis climb into frost factories.
The calmness in the village belied the individual battles ebbing to and fro in the kloof, along the hills, on the Lesotho border and even in the relative calmness of the sheltered Carlislehoekspruit valley on the run in the finish.
Statistics only tell part of the story. 326 entries, 261 starters, 211 finishers with a sprinkling of unofficial finishers who completed the distance after the final cut-off. Snowflake permanent numbers were presented to 22 who completed their third run. In the absence of Danny Holton who was recovering from surgery, the only other runner to have completed the first 30 events, Sham Singh became ‘last man standing’ completing his 31st Rhodes Run.
Kallie Burger was first over Hooggenoeg Peak and retained his winning streak taking the title for the third consecutive year finishing in 4:35:00.
Local favourites Thato Kabeli, who had reached the Mavis Top check point second, and Hylton Dun had a titanic battle before Hylton wrestled second spot and claimed his ninth gold medal in as many starts finishing 2nd in 4:43:11. Pieter Swanepoel took third in 5:03:50 with Thato fourth in 5:07:39.
Both Kallie and Thato were presented with their Snowflake permanent number at prize-giving.
In the ladies race Leilani was totally dominant. She had a 21 minute lead at the top of Mavis Bank, which she reached only 90 seconds outside the record. Leilani extended her lead along Hooggenoeg Ridge, better known by runners as the ‘tufts of terror’, to take her fifth gold medal and fourth consecutive win in 5:11:22 an hour ahead of second place. Leilani was 5th overall, a fantastic achievement.
Janneke Leask, another local favourite, was second to summit Mavis Bank but slipped to third place and her third gold medal finishing in 6:21:51. Third to the Mavis Bank check point was previous winner Karoline Hanks who pushed through to secure second spot overall in 6:10:21. Karoline was also first 40+ lady home.
Completing her second Rhodes a little more than a month after her successful summit of Mount Everest was Saray Khumalo.
All the way from the Petard Club in Boxford, outside Boston Massachusetts USA, was 71 year-old Patrick Canonica and 55 year-old Michael Yako who had joined long-time Rhodes enthusiasts and fellow Boxford residents and Petard Club members Peter and Ileana Cross this year with Michael finishing strongly 27th overall and 4th in the 50+ age group.
The biting headwind proved too much for a number of runners and the Eastern Cape Motors sponsored Ford Rangers together with local support ferried many safely off the mountain.
Another noteworthy achievement was Francois and Hannelie Nel of ‘Hamilton’ who manned the first feed station for the 31st year.
There were many lulls at the finish line after the gold medallists finished as runners made their way back to the village conquering the elements, the terrain and their personal goals. Faces, which had been frozen with teeth tightly clenched in vasbyt, were loosened and broad smiles broke through the dust and sweat caked faces when they turned the final right-hand corner and caught sight of the very welcome finish banner.
The finish line quote of the day was from a runner when asked for his comment on the run responded “inhumane!.”
Eastern Cape Motors, Ford, Aramex and First Choice were prominent event partners with Aramex providing each runner with a very useful complimentary store-to-door bag. First Choice gave each runner a fantastic collapsible cup for use on the route and at future runs, the Rhodes Run applying a strict ‘no cup, no run’ policy, which reduces landfill and ensures no plastic or poly cups are blown into the veld.
Runners voted the team from Kisch IP who manned the station at the top of Mavis as the best feed station.
At prizegiving the organisers extended thanks to all who travelled to Rhodes for the 31st event, with special thanks going to all the crew who kept the runners safe and nourished. In addition to Francois and Hannelie the runners were assisted on the route by the de Lauwere and Sebire families, Kisch IP, the Catherine family, Tiffindell, a team from Port Elizabeth (Colin Schroder, Jimmy de Scande, Neill Purdon, Jeff Ferreira), the Murray’s from ‘Glass Nevin’, Frank Knox, Danie Bessinger and the ‘Goons’ from East London, Dave Walker and ‘Walkerbouts’, Johan and Petrie Jordaan from ‘Steepside’, and also family and friends. Appreciation was also given to the landowners whose property the route crossed, the Dunn’s, Harmse’s, Isted’s and Naude’s as well as to the SAPS for their presence and visible policing over race week.
The post-race celebrations were joyous as always with friendships renewed and acquaintances met on the run becoming firm friends. There were also the brave souls who joined the ever popular Rhodes Run Polar Bear Club, taking the traditional nocturnal dip in the Bell River "wearing only a silly grin".
